1. Field
Example embodiments relate to error control codes (ECC). Also, example embodiments relate to ECC encoding/decoding methods for memory devices.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, a path for transmitting information may be referred to as a channel. When information is transmitted using wired communication, the channel may be a transmission line transmitting the information, and when information is transmitted using wireless communication, the channel may be air passing electromagnetic waves with the information.
Also, a process of storing information in a storage device and reading the stored information from the storage device may be the channel. The channel may be a temporal lapse from storing of the information until reading of the information, and may also be a physical path of storing information in the storage device and reading the stored information from the storage device.
While information is being transmitted via the channel, the information may be corrupted. The corrupted information may include an error and thus research is being actively conducted on apparatuses and methods of detecting the error from the corrupted information and eliminating the detected error to restore initial information.
A process of adding error control codes or error control coding or error correction codes (ECC) to the initial information prior to transmitting the information to generate transmission information may be referred to as ECC encoding, and a process of separating added information and the initial information from the received transmission information after receiving the transmission information to restore the initial information may be referred to as ECC decoding.
Depending on channel characteristics, an error rate in the channel may be high. As the error rate increases, a code rate of the ECC to overcome the error and achieve the desired performance may decrease or hardware complexity to embody an encoding and decoding method may increase.